As the province continues to adjust to Stage 2 of the government's reopening plan, Airdrie reported 38 active cases of COVID-19 as of June 15.
According to Airdrie.ca, which publishes a daily update on the city's COVID-19 statistics, there have been 3,822 cases of the virus locally since the pandemic began. Since the pandemic began, 3,765 Airdronians have recovered from the virus and 19 deaths have been reported.
As cases continue to drop locally, vaccination numbers continue to rise. According to the Province's vaccination status map, 67 per cent of eligible Airdrie residents have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccination as of June 14 end-of-day.
Airdrie's schools also continue to see a drop in COVID-19 infections. While 18 schools were listed on the provincial government's COVID-19 school status map at its peak in May, Airdrie is now reporting COVID-19 cases at seven local schools. Two schools are reporting outbreaks of 10 or more cases, four schools are reporting outbreaks of five to nine cases and one school is reporting two to four active cases.
Provincially, Alberta reported 127 new COVID-19 infections on June 14, from 4,476 completed tests. According to government stats, there are 2,804 active cases in Alberta at the moment, with 271 hospitalizations and 68 ICU admissions. The stats indicate 2,274 deaths from COVID-19 have been reported in Alberta since the pandemic began.
As for the vaccine rollout, 3,480,407 doses of COVID-19 vaccine had been administered in Alberta as of June 14. According to alberta.ca, 69 per cent of Albertans aged 12 and older have received at least one dose of the vaccine. Twenty-two per cent of Albertans have ben fully vaccinated.
Stage 2 of the Province's reopen plan has been in effect for almost one week. Under this stage, outdoor social gatherings are allowed up to 20 people, wedding and funeral ceremonies and outdoor receptions are allowed to occur with up to 20 participants, restaurants may seat up to six people per table, (indoors or outdoors) and dining parties are no longer restricted to the same household – though physical distancing still applies.
Retail businesses and places of worship are allowed to increase capacity to one-third of the fire code occupancy, while gyms and other indoor fitness facilities can open for solo and drop-in activities with three-metre distancing between participants.
Museums, theatres, libraries and art galleries can now open, while post-secondary learning institutions can resume in-person classes.
Youth activities like day camps and play centres may resume, while indoor and outdoor youth and adults sports are also allowed to operate.
Speaking on June 15, Dr. André Corriveau, Alberta's deputy chief medical officer of health, said two doses of the Pfizer or the Moderna vaccine have rendered an effectiveness in the 90 per cent range, when it comes to immunizing people against COVID-19.
"And even against the new variants of concern, after people have had their two doses, there was new data that came out of the U.K. today that showed with Pfizer two doses, 88+ per cent protection against the new Delta variant," he said.
"The second dose is really critical to consolidate the gains. We are hoping to maintain the momentum, and we are working really hard to find ways to accelerate access to the second doses to all Albertans so that we get to our goal as soon as possible."
Corriveau also said Albertans who have received the Moderna or the Pfizer vaccine for their first dose have been wondering whether it matters which type of mRNA vaccine they receive as a second dose.
"Both Pfizer and Moderna use the same mRNA technology and they are considered now to be interchangeable," he said. "Even though there’s not a lot of solid evidence in regard to those particular two vaccines, we in public health have a lot of experience interchanging vaccines made by different companies."
